Tag: Racing

Cool Kiss will chase his second straight win when he goes postward in Sunday's $250,000 Cup & Saucer Stakes, at Woodbine.

A 1 1/16-mile event for Canadian-bred 2-year-olds run over the E.P. Taylor Turf Course, the 85th running of the Cup & Saucer has drawn 13 hopefuls, including Cool Kiss, an Ontario-bred son of Kantharos-Hot Kiss.

Bred and owned by Phoenix Racing, the dark bay delivered a dazzling debut effort in a seven-furlong turf race on September 10 at Woodbine.

Under Sahin Civaci, who'll be aboard again Sunday, Cool Kiss, sent off at 4-1, got away ninth and last over the E.P. Taylor Turf, but then methodically began to pick off his rivals on the way to a convincing 3 ¾-length score in a time of 1:22.20 over firm going.

“He was impressive,” said trainer Michael De Paulo. “He actually got close to running once before, but he had a little mishap under the tunnel [leading to the racetrack], so we sent him to get gelded soon after. But he came back and ran like a monster that day. He galloped out super and it was an impressive race, I thought. He came from last. I told the jock to let him get his feet and then come running. And that's how it ended up playing out. He was really running at the wire, and he galloped out super.”

The effort didn't come as a total surprise to the veteran conditioner with 942 career wins to his name.

“He'd given me a couple of really good works. But you never know. His brother, Repeat the Heat, trained really well as a 2-year-old, but it took a while for him to come around. So, I was a little disappointed with Repeat the Heat in his rookie year, and I thought there could be a chance that would happen with him. The mother [Hot Kiss], who was also owned by Phoenix Racing, it took a while for her to get going too. Once she figured it out, she went on a roll, but it took five or six starts for her to get there. She was second in the 2016 Maple Leaf, which was a mile and a quarter. So, there's a bit of stamina on that side of the family. For a horse to finish that strong and run so well first time out, it was a very strong performance.”

Cool Kiss has had a couple of solid works, including 1:00.40, breezing, on the turf training track on October 2, in preparation for the Cup & Saucer.

De Paulo is no stranger to success in the race, having won the 2007 edition with Deputiformer and the 2014 running with Passion for Action.

“I'm looking forward to this Sunday. He's been great to have in the barn. He's always been a good-feeling horse. You kind of had to watch him coming in and out of the stall, but other than that, he's been really good. Not a lot has changed for him. The first time he was going to race, he jumped on the pony and slipped, and got loose. They noted there was a scratch and I thought, 'Okay, that's good.' Then they said it was the number five and that sounded familiar. I look at the program and that's us.”

Hall of Fame trainer Jim Day has won 10 editions of the Cup & Saucer, including seven straight runnings from 1984-1990.

Sunday's card of racing also includes the $100,000 Eternal Search Stakes, for Ontario-sired fillies and mares, 3-year-olds and up, as well as the $100,000 Overskate Stakes, for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds and up. Both races are set for 7 ½ furlongs over the Inner Turf.

The Eternal Search is named after the three-time Canadian champion, purchased at age 2 for $50,000 by Canadian Horse Racing Hall of Fame inductee Mel Lawson, who raced her under his Jim Dandy Stable banner. Eternal Search retired from racing with 15 stakes victories and posted a record of 18-11-2 from 44 starts.

Overskate enjoyed a brilliant career for owner/breeder Jack Stafford, trainer Gil Rowntree and jockey Robin Platts. He raced a total of 42 times and won 24, 18 of those victories coming in stakes races, including the Grade 2 Stars and Stripes. When Overskate retired at age 5 in 1980, he was the richest Canadian-bred Thoroughbred with earnings of nearly $800,000.

The Cup & Saucer is slated as race seven on Sunday's 11-race card. First post time is 1:20 p.m. Fans can watch and wager on all the action via HPIbet.com and the Dark Horse Bets app.

$250,000 CUP & SAUCER STAKES

Post – Horse – Jockey – Trainer

1 – Sing Dixie – Justin Stein – Breeda Hayes

2 – Sooner Lunar – David Moran – Michael Doyle

3 – Coherence – Steven Bahen – Willie Armata

4 – Gran Spirited – Declan Carroll – Mark Casse

5 – Stayhonor Goodside (S) – Emma-Jayne Wilson – Mark Casse

6 – Big Ransom – Leo Salles – Denyse McClachrie

7 – British Artillery – Omar Moreno – Barbara Minshall

8 – Opposites Attract – Eswan Flores – Michael Trombetta

9 – Mo Tourist – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard

10 – Battle Strike – Rafael Hernandez – Mark Casse

11 – Cadfael – Steven Bahen – Willie Armata

12 – Cool Kiss – Sahin Civaci – Michael De Paulo

13 – Philip My Dear – Kazushi Kimura – Kevin Attard

The post Cool Kiss Heads Into Woodbine’s Cup & Saucer Off ‘Monster’ Maiden Win appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Mosienko, owned by Stacy Lalman and trained by her father, Dennis, has become a familiar name on the NYRA circuit after stringing together an impressive quartet of victories dating back to an August 6 optional claimer at Saratoga Race Course.

The 5-year-old New York-bred daughter of Hat Trick was victorious once again on Thursday at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet, scoring a gutsy victory in Race 8, a 6 1/2-furlong open company optional claimer.

Ridden to victory by Flavien Prat, Mosienko trailed in fifth in the bunched-up field of seven before quickly moving up to second position at the half-mile call. Prat swung the bay mare four-wide at the quarter-pole for her drive to the wire and needed every bit of the stretch to collar pacesetter Patty H, but got there just in time to secure the victory by a head in a final time of 1:16.88.

“She came out of the race really good,” Lalman said. “She ate all her food and looks good.”

Mosienko, Lalman's only trainee, has blossomed during the second half of this campaign after struggling to find the winner's circle in her first eight starts of the year. She put it all together with her aforementioned August 6 score and followed with another Spa victory on September 2 when dominating a second-level state-bred optional claimer by 4 1/2 lengths. She stepped up to face open company on September 22 at the Belmont at the Big A fall meet and passed the test with aplomb, turning in another four-length romp sprinting 6 1/2 furlongs.

Lalman said an adjustment in Mosienko's training regime has allowed her to find her best stride.

“She had been training really good coming into these races, and I always thought she was going to win some races,” said Lalman. “I exercise her myself in the morning, and I saw talent in her early. She's the kind of mare that's a little nervous and she used to be hard on herself, doing a lot in the mornings. She was training well, but she wasn't running to my expectations. So, I started adjusting her training and going slower and lighter. She liked that, and I've seen a lot of improvement in her. Everything keeps getting better and she finally put everything together.”

Lalman first noticed Mosienko last winter when she was with conditioner Rudy Rodriguez, impressed that the mare had hit the board in seven of her first 12 career outings. Lalman decided to claim her for $10,000 out of a second-place effort last March. She then made three starts for trainer Luis Miranda, including a runner-up and third-place effort in a pair of claiming contests at Aqueduct and Belmont Park, respectively.

“I got sick a few times with Covid and was in the same barn as Luis Miranda at the time, so I had him take care of her for a little while for me,” Lalman explained. “Her form was really attractive because she was always there hitting the board consistently. I figured if she's OK and she's strong, I know she'll win some races.”

Once under Lalman's care last August, Mosienko hit the board twice before scoring a 6 3/4-length state-bred allowance victory this February at the Big A and, in addition to her winning streak, has hit the board on two other occasions since.

With earnings of $341,303 since joining Lalman, Mosienko, bred by Anthony Grey, has become the highest-earning trainee for her conditioner since he started his first runner in 1994. Lalman, a native of Guyana, grew up around racehorses and moved to the United States in the 1980s. He started out exercising horses for trainer Gary Sciacca before a short jockey career in which he rode in 119 starts.

Lalman said that Mosienko is very special to him and his daughter.

“She's become part of the family,” said Lalman. “Being around her, she acts like family. Yesterday, when I was in the paddock and gave a leg up to Flavien, I walked away and she turned her head and looked at me like, 'Where are you going?' I won my first race as a jockey at Aqueduct, so it's a full circle moment to win here with her.”

Lalman prefers to keep his operation small to give his horses the most attention in all aspects of care and training, and said Mosienko has brought enough attention for him to potentially expand in the near future.

“She opens some opportunity for me and I'm having some calls about training other horses because of her,” Lalman said. “I do like to keep it small though so I can be there with them and do almost everything with them – see that everything is going right, what they like and dislike, and what I can do to make them better. I believe in taking care of them and that they'll reward you for that.”

For now, Lalman can look forward to a serious chance at his first career stakes win with the $150,000 Iroquois for state-bred fillies and mares 3-years-old and up on October 30 a strong possibility for Mosienko's next outing.

“That's probably next,” said Lalman. “We'll see how she's doing. I'm so proud of her. She's really come along and she's making us all happy.”

The post ‘She’s Become Part Of The Family’: Mosienko Notches Fourth Straight Win For Lalman’s Single-Horse Stable appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

At the Genesee Valley Hunt Races in Geneseo, N.Y., the only steeplechase in the Empire State away from the flat tracks, three races have been carded, all over timber. Topping the day is the $25,000 Genesee Valley Hunt Cup, at 3 ½ miles. The other races are a $15,000 maiden and a $10,000 allowance restricted to amateur or apprentice riders. Both of those events are at 3 miles.

In the feature, the standout is Ballybristol Farm's Andi'amu, the 2019 NSA timber champ, trained by Leslie Young. Andi'amu has two stakes wins and two seconds as a 12-year-old this season. In his first race back after taking the $100,000 Virginia Gold Cup in May, Andi'amu was second best to Sheila Williams and Northwoods Stable's Storm Team in the Brown Advisory Stakes at Shawan Downs on Sept. 24. With Storm Team opting to head to Virginia this weekend, four others have lined up to take on the 12-time winner of $443,000.

Rather Be Racing's Our Legend, a maiden winner over timber for Hall of Fame trainer Jack Fisher, was no match for the top-two finishers at Shawan. Armata Stables' Goodoldtimes, trained by Alicia Murphy, got the best of timber ace Mystic Strike in last year's Pennsylvania Hunt Cup, and has never been off the board in nine starts, including a third in his most recent outing, the Maryland Hunt Cup, in April.

Upland Partners' eight-year-old Shootist, trained by Todd McKenna, who recently upset Snap Decision with Noah and the Ark in the Grade 1 Lonesome Glory hurdle stakes, captured back to back races (maiden and allowance) before being eased in his stakes debut in Andi'amu's dominant Virginia Gold Cup performance in May.

Kinross Farm's lightly raced Pocket Talk, a 12-year-old trained by Joe Davies, makes only his 10th career start. He's been competitive in maiden and allowance ranks, but struggled in the Grand National and Maryland Hunt Cup last spring.

The races are only part of festivities at Geneseo. Leashed dogs are welcome, and there are canine events such as terrier and wiener-dog races, a jumping contest, agility courses, sled-dog demos, plus a parade of the Genesee Valley Hunt foxhounds. For kids, there are stick-horse races and pony rides; adults can partake in wine and craft beer tastings. The festivities began at 10 a.m., with the first race post time at 1 p.m.

For full entries, click here: https://nationalsteeplechase.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/GVH-Overnight-WedEntries.pdf

Nearly 400 miles south of Geneseo, the Virginia Fall Races at Glenwood Park in Middleburg will be run for the 68th time. Eight races worth $150,000 are on the line in a mix of timber and hurdle races, anchored by the $30,000 National Sporting Library & Museum Cup timber stakes at 3 ¼ miles.

The aforementioned Storm Team, 8, has put forth two big efforts this season, besting Andi'amu in the Middleburg Hunt Cup at Glenwood Park in the spring, and defeating that foe again in the Brown Advisory Stakes at Shawan Downs last month. Though he's collected $271,000 in a long and productive career, the eight-year-old son of Candy Ride didn't win his first stakes race over timber until last year's running of the the National Sporting Library & Museum Cup.

Seven-year-old Cracker Factory made his first trip to the winner's circle in nearly four years with a facile score in a timber maiden at Shawan. Owned by Daisy Fenwick's The Hundred Acre Farm and trained by Mark Beecher, it was Cracker Factory's best effort in a dozen U.S. starts following a career in the UK.

Upland Partners' Mystic Strike, a nine-time winner on the NSA tour, is now 13, and has been competing for a decade. The son of Smart Strike is trained by Todd McKenna and has won or placed in a dozen stakes, and captured last year's Genesee Valley Hunt Cup. Mystic Strike has started just once this season, finishing a closing second to wire-to-wire winner Tomgarrow in the My Lady's Manor Stakes. Fat Chance Farm's Flaming Sword, trained by Richard Valentine, is looking for his first tally in nearly three years, but has hit the board in six of his eight career starts. He rallied for third, beaten around seven lengths, in the Brown Advisory at Shawan, and should benefit from the slightly longer distance of Saturday's race.

Charlie Fenwick's Royal Ruse finished a good third in the 2021 running of the National Sporting Library and Museum Cup, his stakes debut, then followed it up with a pair of allowance wins. Though he hasn't won since, Royal Ruse, trained by Sanna Hendriks, has flashed signs of competitiveness.

Ballybristol Farm's Boutonniere came off a 20-month layoff in April to break his maiden at the Grand National Races by a widening eight lengths in a crowded field that included Cracker Factory. Trainer Leslie Young wheeled the six-year-old back two weeks later in an allowance race at Winterthur, where he made a big move at the second to last fence only to fall at the final jump.

The remainder of the program includes a $30,000 maiden special weight hurdle; $25,000 handicap for horses rated at 115 or less: two $15,000 maiden starter allowances; $15,000 timber maiden; $20,000 steeplethon over mixed obstacles; and a training-flat contest.

Gates open at 10 a.m., and first race post time is 12:30 p.m. For full entries, click here: https://nationalsteeplechase.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/VAFall-Overnight-WedEntries.pdf

You can watch Saturday's races via live stream from the link on the NSA homepage, www.nationalsteeplechase.com. The stream, sponsored by Brown Advisory, is offered through Mandolin, which hosted the NSA spring meets. There is a fee to watch the stream, and meets can be viewed and paid for individually or for the entire Fall season.

The post NSA: Timber Features On Tap At Geneseo, Middleburg appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post